Twelve East Central University students were awarded funding under the NASA National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program for the 2012-2013 academic year.

These awards are competitive and applications are reviewed by a committee on campus. The awards are not discipline specific and students must meet required criteria and submit several forms for consideration.

Constitution Day will be observed at East Central University on Monday, Sept. 17, with a lecture by Dr. Carolyn Long entitled “Employment Division v. Smith After 20 Years: Religious Liberty and Contemporary Policy Issues.”

The lecture, co-sponsored by the Rothbaum Lecture and Hayes Native American Studies Center, will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Ataloa Theatre in the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center on the ECU campus.

East Central University adjunct instructor and flutist Juliana Overmier, accompanied on the piano by ECU’s Dr. Starla Hibler, will perform on Thursday, Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the Ada Arts and Heritage Center, located at 14th and Rennie in Ada.

The concert is free and open to the public.

The pair will perform works by John Carmichael, Giuseppe Verdi, Jacques Casterede, Franz Doppler, and Jacques Ibert.

A night of poetry reading and hilarity are in order at Spurr-Ebration on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m., at the Regents Room of Knight Hall on the East Central University campus.

Jim Spurr, a distinguished 82nd Airborne Veteran and Poet Laureate from Shawnee, will have a poetry reading and book signing at the event. Tributes will also be made to the recently-turned 77-year-old.

Spurr is moderator of the popular monthly Open Mic and is an award winning author of Open Mike/Thursday Night and Hail Mary, On Two.

Stand By Me, Under the Boardwalk, and There Goes My Baby are just some of the tunes audience members will be tapping their toes to when Bobby Hendricks’ Drifters perform at East Central University’s Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 14 [Friday]. Tickets are $18 for non-season ticket holders and may be purchased online attickets.ecok.edu or at the box office the night of the show.

Classically trained guitarist Brad Richter is set to open the fine arts season at East Central University’s Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center on Sept. 6 [Thursday], at 7:30 p.m. in the Ataloa Theatre. Richter’s performance is being hosted in conjunction with the Ada Arts Council. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased online at tickets.ecok.edu; by calling 580-559-5751; at Gem Jewelers, located at 101 W. Main; or at the box office the night of the show.

East Central University's mission is to foster a learning environment in which students, faculty, staff, and communityinteract to educate students for life in a rapidly changing and culturally diverse society. Within its service area,East Central University provides leadership for economic development and cultural enhancement.